Devotees coming after paying penalty – Photo: Amar Ujala Expansion In Navratri, the festival of devotion to Shakti, one gets to see many forms of mother. In these, such devotees of the mother are also found, whose penance and meditation are made on seeing them. There is an ancient temple of Balkhandan Mata in Dasondi village of Tendukheda block of Damoh. Here the devotees who reach the court of Mata on the Navami date of Chaitra Navratri, come with their faces full of punishment. Please tell that here the crowd of devotees is formed on sight, the crowd of devotees all around is such that even the place falls short. Only those people come to pay the penalty, who establish ghats. Rest of the devotees come for darshan on foot. In order to reach the court of Balkhandan Mata of Dasondi, devotees reach the court of Balkhandan Mata by paying penalty while walking in the paths of pebbles and stones. The hardships on the way and the sunlight raining from the sky have no effect on the devotees of the mother, nor do they feel tired. 233traveling miles to reach mother’s court… It is a miracle of Mother Balkhadan that pandas come from every village of the twenty-four region. They reach the court of the mother by covering a distance of miles. The tradition that has been going on since time immemorial is being followed in the same way even today. Nanne Singh and Hemraj Singh of village Dasondi told, hundreds of years ago the mother had appeared under the tree near the Balkhandan hill. Due to the miracle of Maa Balkhandan, the devotees go to the court of Mata on the occasion of Chaitra Navratri festival, paying punishment. This tradition is very old, which continues even today in the court of Maa. ,